Taconic VP: Our animal models fuel global R&D

All local breeding will be done at Vivo Bio Tech's 125,000-square-foot pre-clinical research facility in Andhra Pradesh, India. The facility is accredited by the Association for Assessment and Accreditation of Laboratory Animal Care (AAALAC) and is registered with the Committee for the Purpose of Control and Supervision of Experiments on Animals (CPCSEA) for breeding and commercialization of Murine Pathogen Free (MPF) animals.

What sets Taconic apart from its competitors across the world and in India?Taconic's broad portfolio of relevant animal models and services combined with unrivaled scientific expertise and a global footprint positions Taconic to deliver the highest quality solutions quickly and reliably. Our portfolio is the broadest in the industry.

In India, we find that one-of-the-big impediments to drug discovery and research is the lack of locally available high quality laboratory rodents. There is an urgent need for readily available high quality animals without experiencing long wait times and incurring the additional costs for importation. Taconic plans to bridge the gap by breeding and distributing select mouse and rat models that are in demand in India.

Apart from India in the Asia Pacific region, are you focusing on China as well, since it is a leading clinical service provider?We see an increasing trend for pharma to move chemistry, cell biology, toxicology, DMPK and GLP-related studies to Asia, including both India and China. Big pharma are establishing serious R&D centers and partnerships in Shanghai and Bejing to perform thousands of regulatory and non-regulatory studies every year.

As big pharma moves more work to China, the expectation from the breeding industry will increase. It has been recognized that big pharma does not have reliable partners in China. Taconic sees that as an opportunity to support pharma while increasing our global presence.